“I appreciate there is a substantial amount of work that is already under way across the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to strengthen the safety in the sector here in Victoria, [but] I won’t wait,” Allan said. “Families cannot wait.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare revealed he and his state-based colleagues discussed child safety at a meeting of education ministers last Friday, after he was informed about the case of the Melbourne childcare worker charged with more than 70 sex offences against children in his care.
I was informed about this just over a week ago by the Victorian government.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare
Parents of children at the affected centres were informed on Tuesday this week.
“I was informed about this just over a week ago by the Victorian government. It’s the reason I put this on the agenda for education ministers when we met last Friday,” Clare told ABC Radio National on Wednesday.
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“I’m certain that the Victorian government took the steps that they needed to take with police and with the relevant authorities, to make sure that when they advised parents and did so as soon as they possibly could, they were in a position to provide the necessary advice and support for parents.”
Detectives allegedly discovered Brown had a cache of child abuse material and had filmed children who attended Creative Garden Early Learning Centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne’s south-west, between April 2022 and January 2023.
They tracked his work history, uncovering his employment at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017.
Detectives have since shifted their investigation to focus on whether more alleged abuse occurred at other daycare centres. The Victorian government has ordered the early childhood regulator to investigate the conduct of the childcare operators for whom Brown worked.
Victorian Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn told reporters on Tuesday she was briefed on the case “a couple of weeks ago”.
The regulator’s review into childcare centres where Brown worked could not begin until Tuesday, to avoid compromising the police investigation.
“There is a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Education and Victoria Police as to how these types of investigations will be managed,” Blandthorn said.
The families of the eight alleged victims were informed last week, after police worked to identify them following the alleged discovery of child abuse material.
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Police said Brown had a valid Working With Children Check and no criminal history prior to his May 12 arrest.
The Working With Children Check system is under review, but Clare warned on Wednesday the clearance checks were not a “silver bullet”.
“This alleged perpetrator had no criminal record,” the education minister told ABC.
“That doesn’t mean that Working With Children Checks can’t be improved right across the country.”
Clare accepted work to implement child safety changes following the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was “too slow”.
Victoria’s premier announced an initial review of the Working With Children Check system in April this year, and repeated on Tuesday that changes to screening childcare workers would come into effect in August.
“We’ve already undertaken a rapid review that commenced in April, and changes are being introduced from next month around strengthening the worker screening,” Allan said.
The premier conceded in April that Working with Children Check applicants were subject to “rigorous screening processes” but it was clear the system needed to be strengthened.
Under the current system, prohibition notices banning people from working in schools or daycares are not considered when determining an applicant’s Working With Children Check clearance. Clearance can only be revoked because of criminal charges, or a regulatory finding.
Experts unanimously say that element is one of the system’s major shortfalls. Factoring prohibition notices into Working With Children Checks will be among the changes coming into effect in Victoria in August.
The Creative Garden Early Learning Centre at Point Cook.Credit: Justin McManus
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said the childcare system had repeatedly “failed” families, and authorities have allowed “holes” in child safety scaffolding across the nation.
“We haven’t closed those holes despite many recommendations from numerous inquiries. And so, yes, this is going to happen again, it won’t be the last time, unless we urgently act on this now,” Hollonds told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday.
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“From my perspective, I’m pretty clear [we haven’t done this] because child safety and wellbeing is not a priority in this country.
“When you look at national cabinet … you’ll find things like women and women’s safety, as it should be – really critical issues for the country — but when you look at the list, you won’t see the word ‘children’ anywhere.”
Blandthorn has called for a national registration system for early education workers, like the Victorian Institute of Teaching for school teachers. Her call was echoed by others, including Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive Kathleen Maltzahn, who demanded improvements in regulation and oversight.
Early childhood educators should be forced to register with professional bodies, and no childcare worker should be left alone with a child, Maltzahn said. There should also be specific safeguarding protocols around “high-risk” tasks like toileting, she said.
“This work cannot wait another day, and everyone can play a part in keeping children safe.”
Brown is due to face court on September 15.
The Victorian Health Department has recommended 1200 children who attended childcare centres he worked for be tested for sexually transmitted infections out of “an abundance of caution”.
His case is a fresh blow for the embattled childcare sector after child sex abuse scandals in Sydney and Brisbane, devastating stories of abuse and neglect in for-profit centres around the country, corporate collapses and accusations of financial misconduct.
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